


Soothe Your Aching Head

by dancingbeetle



Category: Lizzie Bennet Diaries
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-02-03
Updated: 2013-02-03
Packaged: 2017-11-28 03:11:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 773
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/669617
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dancingbeetle/pseuds/dancingbeetle
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Darcy has a migraine and Lizzie tries to help him feel better. Set between episodes 83 and 84.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Soothe Your Aching Head

Lizzie knocked tentatively on the doorjamb as she peeked around the door into the office of Pemberley Digital's CEO.

"Darcy?" she asked, "Sorry to bother you, I just had a few questions about the operational documents you sent over yesterday? Do you have a min- oh, sorry..."

The room was darkened, and Darcy was leaning back in his chair, eyes closed, fingers pressed against his temples.

"Are you alright?" she asked.

"Not really," he said quietly. "I get headaches, occasionally. They are...difficult to bear."

"Migraines?" she asked, stepping into the room. He nodded. "Oh, they're the worst. My mom gets them sometimes, she's completely incapacitated by them. Is there anything I can do, something I can bring you?"

Darcy opened his eyes and squinted at her, as if to ascertain how genuine her question was. She did not expect him to accept.

"Actually, a glass of water would be very helpful. I would get it myself, but the lights in the corridor..."

"No, I understand. I'll be right back."

In the break room down the hall she found a cup in the cabinet and filled it with water. Darcy didn't like to be weak, she reflected. Whether that was part of his big brother complex or an innate aspect of his personality, she understood that showing vulnerability was not something William Darcy did easily.

Which was why she was surprised that he had asked for a glass of water. And why, now that she thought about it, his declaration of love at Collins & Collins had been so shocking - not just the declaration itself, but the fact that he had _told_ her, on camera even. She was pretty sure he didn't go out on a limb like that very often.

After a moment’s thought she took a clean towel out of the drawer and ran it under cold water for a minute. Wringing it out, she went back to Darcy's office.

He had moved from his desk chair to the couch that stood against one wall of his office. His comically long legs were propped against the armrest of the sofa, and one elbow was thrown over his eyes to block out the light. He looked for all the world like a fainting heroine from a classic novel, and Lizzie had to stop herself from laughing.

"Here's some water," she said, going over to him. "Is there anything you take, any medication? Would caffeine help, or ginger ale?"

"There's a bottle of Excedrin in the top left drawer of my desk," he said tightly. "If you don't mind."

"Sure."

She retrieved the bottle, waited while he took a pill, replaced it in the drawer.

"Listen, there's one other thing that helps my mom. Restricting the flow of blood in the head can help with pain, so...I brought you a cold towel, if you want it..." She held it out.

He accepted it, looking at her steadily from under eyebrows furrowed in pain.

"Thank you very much," he said, placing it on his forehead. "You are an excellent caretaker, Lizzie Bennet."

"If you say so," she smiled. "Are you sure there's nothing else?"

"No, thank you."

"Okay... Feel better, Darcy."

She thought she heard him murmur something as she was leaving the office, but she was already closing the door softly behind her. She completely missed his smile, and the way his fingers lingered on the edge of the cool wet towel.

~

She got a text from Fitz that evening after she got home.

_tending to him in his hour of need! his bed of pain! you are a smooth operator, Lizzie B :P_

_What are you talking about?_ She texted back.

_oh, just the way a certain Pemberley CEO submitted to Nurse Lizzie's tender mercies this afternoon. you know he won't even let ME take care of him when he gets a migraine._

_Don't be ridiculous. I brought him a glass of water. Anybody would have done that!_

_mmhmmmm. a glass of water to quench his loooooove_ , Fitz replied.

_That doesn't even make sense, Fitz. And how did you even know what happened?_

_YOU dont make sense!_

Ah. So he was at the bar. Fitz's texts gained ridiculousness proportional to the amount of alcohol he had imbibed.

_Sure. Tell Gigi I said hi :)_

_we're planning the wedding. do you think i'd look good in a green bridesmaid dress?_

Lizzie laughed and put her phone away. He'd probably text her contritely in the morning. In the meantime, she had work to do, and she wasn’t thinking about the way her fingers had brushed against Darcy’s when she handed him the glass of water...


End file.
